Pedrosa second fastest on day one in Valencia with Marquez in close fifth place

Dani Pedrosa made a strong start to the Gran Premio de la Comunitat Valenciana at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit, a track where he’s the most successful rider, with six wins across all classes.

Dani was tenth in the first free practice session but made the best of much warmer temperatures in FP2, lapping in the 1’31s on 10 occasions and setting the second fastest lap time, just 0.122 off the top.

Marc Marquez ended both FP1 and FP2 in fifth place, despite suffering a small crash in turn 2 at the end of the day.

The Championship leader showed a fast pace using just one set of tires in each session, his focus set on being prepared for Sunday’s race.

Dani Pedrosa

2nd1'30.762

“I’m happy enough with how today went. In the afternoon, when the track was a little warmer and there was more grip than in the morning, I felt more comfortable on the bike. If it remains dry through the weekend, as it seems it will, the track will continue to improve and the grip will also get better, so we must remain focused and continue in this direction. Today we worked well to understand the tires, our pace and bike setup, but tomorrow will be another important day of practice and opportunity to continue the progress. Sunday’s race is in the afternoon, but we want to improve also in cooler conditions.”

Marc Marquez

5th1'31.243

“I felt really good today, we just tried to work hard for the race, riding with used tires to find the best setting and the best compromise. We tried two different setups, one similar to what we used last year and one more based on what we’ve been using recently. Tomorrow we’ll adjust the final details and we’ll go for a time attack, but I’m happy with the general feeling. Our pace this morning, on a medium rear tire, was good and in the afternoon I felt well on a soft rear, despite a small crash during my last lap when I was pushing a little bit more. It was important to start the weekend well, and I feel good on the bike, so we’ll try to keep this momentum going until Sunday.”

MotoGP 2017Friday, November 10th 2017

Practice
Round 18
Gran Premio de la Comunitat ValencianaValencia

Free Practice Results

Sunny

Humidity

31%

Track Temp

24°C

Air Temp

20°C

Pos.

Rider

Num

Nation

Team

Constructor

Time/Gap

1

Lorenzo Jorge

99

SPA

Ducati Team

Ducati

1'30.640

2

Pedrosa Dani

26

SPA

Repsol Honda Team

Honda

0.122

3

Dovizioso Andrea

4

ITA

Ducati Team

Ducati

0.309

4

Zarco Johann

5

FRA

Monster Yamaha Tech 3

Yamaha

0.414

5

Marquez Marc

93

SPA

Repsol Honda Team

Honda

0.603

6

Miller Jack

43

AUS

Marc VDS Racing Team

Honda

0.717

7

Crutchlow Cal

35

GBR

LCR Honda

Honda

0.743

8

Pirro Michele

51

ITA

Ducati Team

Ducati

0.773

9

Rossi Valentino

46

ITA

Movistar Yamaha MotoGP

Yamaha

0.848

10

Espargaro Pol

44

SPA

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing

Yamaha

0.975

11

Vinales Maverick

25

SPA

Movistar Yamaha MotoGP

Yamaha

0.984

12

Espargaro Aleix

41

SPA

Aprilia Racing Team Gresini

Aprilia

1.058

13

Redding Scott

45

GBR

Octo Pramac Racing

Ducati

1.093

14

Abraham Karel

17

CZE

Pull&Bear Aspar Team

Ducati

1.218

15

Rins Alex

42

SPA

Team Suzuki Ecstar

Suzuki

1.236

16

Barbera Hector

8

SPA

Reale Avintia Racing

Ducati

1.286

17

Rabat Tito

53

SPA

Marc VDS Racing Team

Honda

1.318

18

Iannone Andrea

29

ITA

Team Suzuki Ecstar

Suzuki

1.326

19

Kallio Mika

36

FIN

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing

KTM

1.326

20

Bautista Alvaro

19

SPA

Pull&Bear Aspar Team

Ducati

1.436

21

Baz Loris

76

FRA

Reale Avintia Racing

Ducati

1.511

22

Petrucci Danilo

9

ITA

Octo Pramac Racing

Ducati

1.552

23

Smith Bradley

38

GBR

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing

KTM

1.817

24

Lowes Sam

22

GBR

Aprilia Racing Team Gresini

Aprilia

1.947

25

Van Der Mark Michael

60

NDL

Monster Yamaha Tech 3

Yamaha

2.461

Gallery

Images are copyright but free for editorial use.

Location Information

The Circuito de la Comunitat Valenciana was completed in 1999 and held rounds of the MotoGP and Spanish Motorcycle Championships in the same year. The Cheste track has several layouts, running anti-clockwise with varying lengths. MotoGP events are held on a 4km track comprising of five right handed corners, eight… read more.

Location Information

The Circuito de la Comunitat Valenciana was completed in 1999 and held rounds of the MotoGP and Spanish Motorcycle Championships in the same year. The Cheste track has several layouts, running anti-clockwise with varying lengths. MotoGP events are held on a 4km track comprising of five right handed corners, eight… read more.